Monday, November 10, 2008

ECON 101

From my friend, who must know somebody.

When you read this, think of the oil, car, or computer business that B-HO and the dems want to tax so they'll have some wealth to spread around. Which entity does a better job of wealth spread, business, or government?

To All My Valued Employees,

There have been some rumblings around the office about the future of

This company, and more specifically, your job. As you know, the economy

Has changed for the worse and presents many challenges. However, the

Good news is this: The economy doesn't pose a threat to your job. What

Does threaten your job however, is the changing political landscape in

This country.

Of course, as your employer, I am forbidden to tell you whom to vote for

- it is against the law to discriminate based on political affiliation,

Race, creed, religion, etc. Please vote who you think will serve your

Interests the best.

However, let me tell you some little tidbits of fact which might help

You decide what is in your best interests.

First, while it is easy to spew rhetoric that casts employers against

Employees, you have to understand that for every business owner there is

A back story. This back story is often neglected and overshadowed by

What you see and hear. Sure, you see me park my Mercedes outside. You've

Seen my big home at last years Christmas party. I'm sure; all these

Flashy icons of luxury conjure up some idealized thoughts about my life.

However, what you don't see is the back story.

I started this company 12 years ago. At that time, I lived in a 300

Square foot studio apartment for 3 years. My entire living apartment was

Converted into an office so I could put forth 100% effort into building

A company, which by the way, would eventually employ you.

My diet consisted of Ramen Pride noodles because every dollar I spent

Went back into this company. I drove a rusty Toyota Corolla with a

Defective transmission. I didn't have time to date. Often times, I

Stayed home on weekends, while my friends went out drinking and

Partying. In fact, I was married to my business -- hard work,

Discipline, and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, my friends got jobs. They worked 40 hours a week and made a

Modest $50K a year and spent every dime they earned. They drove flashy

Cars and lived in expensive homes and wore fancy designer clothes.

Instead of hitting the Nordstrom's for the latest hot fashion item, I

Was trolling through the Goodwill store extracting any clothing item

That didn't look like it was birthed in the 70's. My friends refinanced

Their mortgages and lived a life of luxury. I, however, did not. I put

My time, my money, and my life into a business with a vision that

Eventually, some day, I too, will be able to afford these luxuries my

Friends supposedly had.

So, while you physically arrive at the office at 9am, mentally check in

At about noon, and then leave at 5pm, I don't. There is no "off" button

For me. When you leave the office, you are done and you have a weekend

All to yourself. I unfortunately do not have the freedom. I eat, and

Breathe this company every minute of the day. There is no rest. There is

No weekend. There is no happy hour. Every day this business is attached

To my hip like a 1 year old special-needs child. You, of course, only

See the fruits of that garden -- the nice house, the Mercedes, the

Vacations... You never realize the back story and the sacrifices I've

Made.

Now, the economy is falling apart and I, the guy that made all the right

Decisions and saved his money, have to bail-out all the people who

Didn't. The people that overspent their paychecks suddenly feel entitled

To the same luxuries that I earned and sacrificed a decade of my life

For.

Yes, business ownership has is benefits but the price I've paid is steep

And not without wounds.

Unfortunately, the cost of running this business, and employing you, is

Starting to eclipse the threshold of marginal benefit and let me tell

You why:

I am being taxed to death and the government thinks I don't pay enough.

I have state taxes. Federal taxes. Property taxes. Sales and use taxes.

Payroll taxes. Workers compensation taxes. Unemployment taxes. Taxes on

Taxes. I have to hire a tax man to manage all these taxes and then guess

What? I have to pay taxes for employing him. Government mandates and

Regulations and all the accounting that goes with it, now occupy most of

My time. On Oct 15th, I wrote a check to the US Treasury for $288,000

For quarterly taxes. You know what my "stimulus" check was? Zero. Nada.

Zilch.

The question I have is this: Who is stimulating the economy? Me, the guy

Who has provided 14 people good paying jobs and serves over 2,200,000

people per year with a flourishing business? Or, the single mother

sitting at home pregnant with her fourth child waiting for her next

welfare check? Obviously, government feels the latter is the economic

stimulus of this country.

The fact is, if I deducted (Read: Stole) 50% of your paycheck you'd quit

and you wouldn't work here. I mean, why should you? That's nuts. Who

wants to get rewarded only 50% of their hard work? Well, I agree which

is why your job is in jeopardy.

Here is what many of you don't understand ... to stimulate the economy

you need to stimulate what runs the economy. Had suddenly government

mandated to me that I didn't need to pay taxes, guess what? Instead of

depositing that $288,000 into the Washington black-hole, I would have

spent it, hired more employees, and generated substantial economic

growth. My employees would have enjoyed the wealth of that tax cut in

the form of promotions and better salaries. But you can forget it now.

When you have a comatose man on the verge of death, you don't

defibrillate and shock his thumb thinking that will bring him back to

life, do you? Or, do you defibrillate his heart? Business is at the

heart of America and always has been. To restart it, you must stimulate

it, not kill it. Suddenly, the power brokers in Washington believe the

mud of America are the essential drivers of the American economic

engine. Nothing could be further from the truth and this is the type of

change you can keep.

So where am I going with all this?

It's quite simple.

If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, my reaction will be

swift and simple. I fire you. I fire your co-workers. You can then plead

with the government to pay for your mortgage, your SUV, and your child's

future. Frankly, it isn't my problem any more.

Then, I will close this company down, move to another country, and

retire. You see, I'm done. I'm done with a country that penalizes the

productive and gives to the unproductive. My motivation to work and to

provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, will be my citizenship.

While tax cuts to 95% of America sounds great on paper, don't forget the

backstory: If there is no job, there is no income to tax. A tax cut on

zero dollars is zero

So, when you make decision to vote, ask yourself, who understands the

economics of business ownership and who doesn't? Whose policies will

endanger your job?

Answer those questions and you should know who might be the one capable

of saving your job. While the media wants to tell you "It's the economy

stupid" I'm telling you it isn't.

If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the economy; it will

be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this

country, steamrolled the constitution, and will have changed its

landscape forever. If that happens, you can find me in South Caribbean

sitting on a beach, retired, and with no employees to worry about.

Signed,

Your boss